The present invention generally relates to a form for printing address information relating to mail handling for attachment to a mailpiece. More specifically, the present invention relates to a multi-part form for special service handling of mailpieces or for mailpieces requiring special services.
It is, of course, known to provide specialized postal processing and handling of particular mailpieces. Such special services include the preparation of certified mail, registered mail, insured mail, recorded delivery mail, return receipt for merchandise mail, C.O.D. and the like. The known procedure requires printing or writing of information on various slips of paper and attaching the slips to the outside of an envelope or other mailpiece. Often carbon paper is used to assist in making the attachments.
As an example, to prepare a certified mailpiece, the forms are supplied by the United States Postal Service to the customer. The customer must separately address and complete a certified mailing receipt, both faces of a return receipt card, an envelope or mailpiece in which the mail is to be mailed, and a request for return service on the face of the envelope. Then, the customer or the Postal Service must affix each of the completed parts to the envelope using glue, an adhesive, tape or the like.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,793 to Walz, a multiple-part mailer form assembly is shown in which the addressing of specialized postal handling may be accomplished by continuously fed impact-type printers. The parts are then separated from each other for affixing some parts to the outside of a standard window envelope which can be addressed by the insertion of one of the extra form layers.
This type of multiple-layer continuous assembly cannot be addressed or overprinted in the non-impact printers as commonly used or on less expensive impact-type printers having no means to adjust for strength of impact or thickness of multiple-layer forms. Furthermore, the address information printed on the intermediate or rear layers of such forms is often degraded or blurred to a less readable condition by the necessity of printing through the multiple layers. The degradation renders the use of bar codes unfeasible on the lower layers of the address inserts to be compatible with U.S. Postal Service sorting equipment which is now generally used. Further, the degradation renders unfeasible the use of high-density bar codes in other forms for automated identification of the return receipt postal card when returned to the sender as proof of delivery to the addressee.
Still further, the multiple-part mailer disclosed by Walz requires forms to be separately affixed to the outside of the envelope or other mailpiece by using glue, adhesive, tape, or the like. The form includes a significant amount of carrier, backing, carbon layer, peel-off or other materials which require handling and removal during use and subsequent discarding as waste after use. Further, chemical treatment of some of the layers of the form is also required during manufacturing of the form.
Still further, the mailer disclosed by Walz is not suitable for feeding through automatic non-impact printers and, therefore, the return address of the sender must be printed on the back of the return receipt card portion of the form by non-impact means, i.e. either hand-printing or labeling or offset printing during the manufacturing process. This avoids unwanted reverse printing on the face of the other layers. Finally, the mailer of Walz does not disclose a means for noting the request for return receipt service, if desired, on the face of the envelope as required by postal regulations.
Clearly, the current methods known for preparing mailpieces or shipping items for special services is tedious, complicated, and labor intensive, particularly for businesses and institutions in which items such as notifications, reminders, or valuable documents are commonly sent by specialized mail services. In many instances, the delivery of such mailpieces must be documented by recording of a U.S. Postal Service receipt or other services return receipt when it arrives back to the sender. This task is also time consuming and has great potential for error when all of the identifying information from each return receipt card must be entered or recorded by hand.
A need, therefore, exists for an improved form for special service mail and shipping handling and a method for assembling a mailpiece or shipping item requiring special services.
The present invention provides a label/form that may be printed on two sides wherein portions of the label/form are attached to a sheet and including an adhesive on its back for attaching the same to a mailpiece or shipping item. Another portion of the sheet is detachable from the label/form for securing to the mailpiece and, subsequently, for removing from the mailpiece or shipping item.
To this end, in an embodiment of the present invention, an assembly for shipping and handling an article requiring delivery by a special service is provided. The assembly has a first sheet having a first label wherein the first label has information related to the delivery of the article wherein the first label attaches to a return postcard. An auxiliary label is provided on the assembly. A backing layer is disposed on a backside of the first layer.
In an embodiment, an adhesive layer is disposed between the first layer and the backing layer.
In an embodiment, the first label has information that corresponds to U.S. Postal Service Form 3811.
In an embodiment, the auxiliary label corresponds to a receipt for the delivery of the article by the special service.
In an embodiment, the auxiliary label corresponds to an address label for the delivery of the article by the special service.
In an embodiment, a special services designator section is provided on the assembly.
In an embodiment, a receipt and a special services designator section wherein the receipt is removably attached to the special services designator section are provided.
In an embodiment, a second sheet is attached to the first sheet wherein the second sheet contains a second label for attachment to a second return postcard.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a form for special service delivery of a mailpiece is provided. The form has a first layer having an information section for attachment to a special services return postcard wherein the information section has information related to the special service. The information section is removably attached to a remainder of the label/form. A backing layer is disposed on a backside of the first layer. A first special services designator section is provided on the form and a second special services designator section is provided on the form.
In an embodiment, an auxiliary label is removably attached to the backing sheet.
In an embodiment, the information section is removably attached to the backing sheet.
In an embodiment, a receipt section is removably attached to the first layer.
In an embodiment, the information section includes an area for designating the special service delivery desired by a sender of the mailpiece.
In an embodiment, the first special services designator section is removably attached to the backing sheet via a tear line.
In an embodiment, an adhesive is provided between the first layer and the backing sheet.
In an embodiment, the first special services designator section is removably attached to the receipt section.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for preparing a mailpiece for delivery by a special service is provided. The method comprises the steps of: providing a form having a first layer wherein the first layer has an information section; providing a backing layer disposed on a backside of the first layer wherein the information section is removably attached to the backing layer; printing information related to the delivery of the mailpiece by the special service on the first layer; providing a return postcard; removing the information section from the form; and attaching the information section to the return postcard.
In an embodiment, the method includes providing an auxiliary label removably attached to the backing and removing the auxiliary label from the backing sheet.
In an embodiment, the method includes attaching the auxiliary label to the mailpiece to effect delivery of the mailpiece by the special service.
In an embodiment, the method includes providing a special services designator section on the form; removing the special services designator section from the form; and attaching the special services designator section to the mailpiece to effect delivery of the mailpiece by the special service.
It is, therefore, an advantage of the present invention to provide a label/form and a method for simplified assembly of a mailpiece or shipping item requiring special services.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a label/form and a method for identifying the type of special service by removal of a portion of the label/form from a sheet and subsequent attachment to a mailpiece or shipping item.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide a label/form and a method for assembly of a mailpiece or shipping item requiring special services such that the label/form and the method can be quickly performed.
A still further advantage of the present invention is to provide a label/form and a method for assembling a mailpiece or shipping item using the label/form without requiring additional means for securing the label/form to the mailpiece or shipping item.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a label/form that simplifies identification of particular sections thereof for both machine readability and visible identification.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide a label/form for use on mailpieces or shipping items requiring special services that includes printing unique to the mailpiece or shipping item on only one side of the label/form.
And, another advantage of the present invention is to provide a label/form for use on mailpieces or shipping items requiring special services which is sized to occupy only one-half of an 8xc2xd inch backing sheet wherein two such label/forms may be affixed to a single backing sheet.
A further advantage of the present invention is to provide a label/form for use on mailpieces or shipping items requiring special services which is sized so as to fit on a single side of a standard 4xe2x85x9 inch by 9xc2xd inch envelope for mailing purposes.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an assembly, a label/form and a method of using the same that provides a plurality of removable labels to be added to a return postcard.
A further advantage of the present invention is to provide an assembly, a label/form and a method of using the same that provides a removable special services label to attach to either a mailpiece or the return postcard.
A still further advantage of the present invention is to provide an assembly, a label/form and a method of using the same that provides a second removable special services label that allows a sender of a mailpiece to have a choice in special services provided on one form.
Moreover, an advantage of the present invention is to provide an assembly, a label/form and a method of using the same that provides two mailing forms together on a single sheet.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments and from the drawings.